Update from the Joint Liquidators of Stanford International Bank

Source: FRP Advisory

Update from the Joint Liquidators of Stanford International Bank - in Liquidation (SIB) relating to the recent hearing in the High Court of Antigua & Barbuda

Following the previous update on 21 October 2010, the Joint Liquidators of SIB, Nigel Hamilton-Smith and Peter Wastell, can confirm that the judgment has been handed down by the High Court of Antigua & Barbuda (the Court) in respect of the hearing that took place on 18 October 2010.

The Joint Liquidators have been successful in their application and, in its judgment, the Court has given the Joint Liquidators leave to appeal and extended the time for the lodgement of the appeal.

Whilst the Joint Liquidators have taken immediate steps to lodge an appeal, they are also seeking consent from the Court that there is a general stay on the application for their removal, pending a full appeal hearing. The date of this hearing is yet to be confirmed, but the Joint Liquidators are hopeful it will take place early next year.

Nigel Hamilton-Smith commented: “While the court case continues, we remain committed to recovering assets on behalf of SIB investors. As such, the existing team working on the liquidation remains in place.”

Further information will follow when practicable.

In the meantime, all SIB investors who have not yet registered their claim on the Online Claims Management System should do so via the website at https://stanford.frpadvisory.com/, where their claims continue to be processed

Update on the Status of Morgenstern & Blue's Stanford Related Cases and Recovery Efforts and Other Case Developments

Client Update

Update from Peter Morganstern to Stanford Victims

While it may not always be publicly apparent, please know that we are working very hard to advance the cause of maximizing recoveries for Stanford investors, and I personally spend the great majority of my own professional time on this matter. Second, I believe that there is a misperception that the victims from outside the United States are not being fairy represented. That is not true. The considerable majority of our clients (which exceeds 1000 in total) reside outside the United States and all of my efforts are on behalf of the entire group, without reference to where they are located. Our cases against the banks and Antigua are proceeding as expeditiously as possible (the banks are due to answer the complaint next month), and we are investigating other potentially lucrative claims all the time. We believe that other promising cases will be filed shortly. The legal process is slow, but we are aggressively pursuing all avenues for recovery. The process is particularly burdensome in large complex cases like this, and the involvement of a foreign government makes things even more complicated, as we need to formally serve Antigua under a foreign treaty, which takes several months even when the other side is cooperative, which they are not. We are doing everything we can under international law, to pursue the claims we filed against Antigua, the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, and the other defendants. Please note that our economic interests are absolutely aligned with the victims that we represent, as our compensation depends on the success of our efforts.
We also strongly believe that the victims of this terrible fraud deserve to be compensated under the applicable laws that we cite in our complaints. As you know, we sought to move the main cases from the receivership to bankruptcy court. After the court expressed skepticism about the wisdom of removing the receiver and his team after a year of work, and the potential for increased expense and delay, we devised a compromise that will empower investors through an official committee.
This was not our first choice. Under the order we submitted to the court, we are still able to seek to move the case to bankruptcy in the future, if we are dissatisfied with this arrangement. The committee will be formed as soon as the court enters the order, as we expect it will. I assure you that the committee will represent the interests of all victims and we have been responding to people who have expressed interest in serving on the committee. I apologize for the fact that I am not always able to respond to personal emails as quickly as some people would like. We are trying to balance the legitimate desire of our clients for responses and updates with our efforts to work toward the quickest possible successful resolution of the cases. Please feel free to share this as you consider appropriate, and let's keep in touch.
Regards, PDM